Monday, March 22, 2010

the sessions have been intense
packed with information
classes running two or three hours straight
sometimes i am wide awake through the whole session, sometimes its hard not to snooze.
the mornings begin early, around 6am.
i play shujaat husain or villayat khan or bismillah khan... while Alexa and sometimes a few others who trickle in, do their yoga, drink their teas and connect on their laptops. they enjoy this music:-) and find it the best way to wake up every morning. all these new people.... all of them in the realm of my own reality. the world that i like to inhabit and haven't all these years. meeting like minded people - to whom all my ways are not strange or different but easily understood. and conversely their 'alternative' life styles are no surprise.

Alexa is 8 weeks pregnant and not only glows with love on her face but does her yoga as if her body is made of rubber bending and turning into all shapes and forms.

at 7.30 am - a tasty breakfast of organic eggs - several cereal options, sometimes pancakes or blueberry muffins freshly baked and a few varieties of whole wheat breads, muffins and bagels. a few jams. organic butter. several organic yoghurt's and the thickest creamiest organic milk that comes in an old fashioned glass bottle that if you're the first to pour you get a dollop of malaai as well.

adeebeh packed me a bag of barbari and some paneer and walnuts. i toast my babari and spread the butter, feta, mint, cilantro and walnut, make a roll and eat it with my own cardamom flavoured 'sadaf' chai:-) sweet. they love that as well. who ever comes to sit next to me gets a bite.
by 9 am we're in our morning sessions....id imagined a lot of outdoor work, but so far most of it has been indoor sessions. we've only had one bed prepping session and have a swale and berm building lesson for this week.

all the rest is class room instruction. classroom is a long narrow meeting room with a wood burning fireplace to one end. my spot is a two seater sofa right by the instructors nose..others sit on the floor or on chairs. all very casual and comfortable. we listen mostly, some take copious notes, others already know alot of this but are getting some reinforcement, some new ideas, but mostly a chance to discuss and refresh all these ideas of sustainability in the garden and in our personal life choices. when were outside, i draw the scene as best i can. when were back in i color it all in. it keeps me focused and not falling asleep. since my camera lens doesn't open i figured this will be the old fashioned way of recording place and time:-)

the whether is cool and very spring and lovely. sometimes the coastal fog stays in for a few hours in the morning, when it clears the day becomes a perfect combination of green blue white and wet!

About Me

my work is the result of things that can happen by chance. continually changing, never the same, yet the original character always constant. similar to objects in motion, similar to the universe itself, the pieces too in a constant never ending state of becoming and dissolving. at once presenting an illusion of permanence, yet wearing down to eventually fade into oblivion and non existence.
made of materials that are visibly vulnerable to the effects of weather and human treatment, their chips, nicks, dents, bruises, scars, are all a testament to their history of use and misuse. the use of intentionally corroded metal in various states of tarnish and rust, mismatched plant groupings, mixed with cast away industrial waste, are an understated call to observe the pieces up close. to behold the unassuming yet quiet authority of seemingly ugly objects that do not need validation of market culture or reassurance of status.
the pieces speak to all that exists,including the thoughts and creations of a human mind expressed in poetic variability and irregularity.
Slow down, be patient, look more closely, and you'll appreciate whatever you encounter.